Will Our Bodies Be Raised from the Dead?

1 Corinthians 15

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Corinthians, he brings up the important issue of the resurrection.  There were some in the church who were saying that there was "no resurrection" of the dead.  The believed other aspects of the Christian faith, but they could not buy into this part of the teaching.  While they could believe Jesus rose from the dead, they could not believe that anyone else would be resurrected from the dead.  

Remember when Paul uses the term "resurrection", he is referring to a "bodily resurrection", not just a "spiritual resurrection". Some in the church were teaching that though our spirit goes to heaven, our body surely could not because it was intrinsically evil.  This was the early form of gnosticism which ended up infiltrating the church more and more toward the end of the 1st century.

For Paul, the fact that our bodies will be raised from the dead when Jesus returns is a central part of the gospel he and the other apostles preached.  There were many problems associated with denying a bodily resurrection including but not limited to:

1. If we can't be raised from the dead, then Jesus was not raised from the dead.

2. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead then the gospel makes no sense because this truth is at the heart of the proclamation of the gospel which says, "Jesus died and on the third day rose form the dead."  

3. If Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, Paul and the others apostles were false witnesses.  They were actually preaching lies which went against the ten commandments.  

4. If Christ did not raise from the dead then we are still in our sins.  When Jesus rose from the dead he conquered sin, death and the power of the devil.

So you can see why the doctrine of the bodily resurrection is so important. 

This is why in our church we recite the Apostle's Creed every Sunday as we say, "On the third day Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father." 

Paul concludes with this promise,

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man,the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

Because He lives we will live too. Even though we die, yet shall we live! This is really the Good News.  Though we really will die, we really will rise again and have a new body.